Project Coordination: Scaling New Heights at 81 Bay Street. On site coordinating the largest installation project in our company's 30-year history at CIBC Square, Toronto.

Modifying a large excavator bucket for a special job. I'm working into the night to ensure it is ready for the crew in the morning.

Engineering Collaboration: Fairmont Royal York. A still from a promotional video I scripted and co-directed, depicting the close relationship between the project management office and the engineering department. Here Stephen and me are discussing the complex Royal York project.

Welcome

Darren Scala | Durham Region, Ontario, Canada

Updated April 12, 2026

Back in 2010, I traded social media for focus. I found the platforms consumed too much of my attention, but I still wanted an online presence. So I built this site that values your time and mine — free from the incessant distractions of 'the feed.'

Grit & Precision

A versatile operations lead with a unique cross-section of skills spanning construction project coordination & sales, heavy equipment operation & maintenance, automotive repair & sales, IT networking & sales, digital imaging, and marketing, I deliver reliable results across the B2B and B2C markets.

Mechanical expertise with 85-WPM typing accuracy, built on a foundation of dependability.

Get in Touch →

When your CEO calls you a rockstar. I’m proud to have helped pioneer Canada’s first elevator video wall system at Manulife's Canadian HQ. This project was as much a strategic victory as it was a technical one. My CEO sat with me at the bank's enormous executive longtable, facing down a room full of A/V specialists, bank executives, consultants, and incumbent service providers. The tension was palpable as my competition stood up and actually walked out mid-meeting, in protest of my proposed strategy being 'technically impossible'. I stayed to convince the bank's executive team that my vision was very much possible, and successfully closed the deal. The real win, however, happened back at my office, where my CEO called me a 'rockstar' and backed it up with an immediate $10,000 raise. As Project Coordinator, I oversaw the entire two-year lifecycle, and I personally handled electronics procurement, network architecture design, and systems integration to ensure we didn't deviate from what I promised the client. Success required deep collaboration between our Engineering and Production teams, ensuring our products met strict TSSA safety code without sacrificing visual quality. Today, Manulife’s global creative team in Singapore manages their Waterloo elevator video content in real-time — a seamless fusion of brilliant architectural engineering and my 'technical voodoo'...as the Manulife executives liked to call it.

Bridging the gap between promise and execution at Manulife. Delivering a project this technologically advanced —one that had never been accomplished in Canada and only once in the USA— required me to wear multiple hats: Project Coordinator, Network Engineer, and Systems Integrator. Here I am up in the Manulife elevator machine room —where the mechanical and electronic equipment resides to make the elevator function— and I'm smiling for two reasons: the project finish line is finally in sight, and I am about to prove the 'technically impossible' very much possible. By personally landing the final connections to the bank's network, I ensured that the vision I pitched to stakeholders was exactly what we delivered.

Bridging the gap between promise and execution. The site of Canada's first elevator video wall installation.

At my core, I am an organized problem solver — an operational strategist. I don't just fix the problem, I fix the process behind the problem. Equally comfortable on the shop floor, in the yard, or at the executive longtable, I have navigated a full spectrum of technical and human challenges — from high-stakes sales negotiations, to automotive fleet and heavy equipment maintenance, to ERP software implementation.

I have coordinated commercial construction projects with budgets up to $2.4M in the elevator industry, bridging the gap between engineering, the job shop, and the job site. Managing field crews and collaborating with skilled craftsmen across a 65,000 sq-ft production floor to ensure that made-to-order projects are delivered on scope, time, and cost for high-stake clients like PCL Construction, KingSett Capital, and Otis Canada.

“

In my experience as a construction project coordinator and sales consultant, I’ve had the privilege of representing our teams and accepting industry accolades on their behalf. I know that my role is to provide the support and coordination they need to make our achievements possible.

”

Pioneering 'The Impossible' — This prototype was crucial in the development of the Manulife elevator video wall systems. By situating the mockup within a controlled office environment, I was able to conduct the network engineering and electronics integration with precision, shielded from the potential physical hazards of the production floor. As the housing panel was still in development, these three delicate LG Wallpaper OLED displays —valued at ~$9,500 each— remained exposed to impact damage without the protection of safety glass.

With Grit and Precision — A project of this scale isn't realized solely on-site; it’s won through months of engineering, fabrication and field crews who you can trust. Kevin and Drew, our lead EDMs (Elevating Device Mechanics) at 81 Bay Street, proved precisely why they are top-tier professionals in this industry, operating with a level of determination and autonomy that made my job as project coordinator more pleasure than pain. We solved myriad 'last mile' problems on the ground together throughout the lengthy installation of 43 elevators, and I felt compelled to capture this moment on the final day as a tribute to the craftsmanship and character that defined our teamwork there.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention — I was promoted to lead our $1M elevator modernization for the $100M PCL hotel renovation at the Fairmont Royal York after the project’s complexity led to my predecessor's resignation.Stepping into this high-friction environment, I identified legacy Excel tracking as a primary source of the team's strain and quickly migrated our operations to a professional project management suite (pictured above). This shift transformed our fragmented data into a high-trust asset that stabilized the project and shifted our stakeholder briefings from high-pressure defenses to collaborative, pleasant partnerships. Based on the success of this turnaround, KingSett Capital appointed me as the General Contractor, tasking me with the oversight of all external trades in addition to our internal teams and subcontractors for the duration of the modernization.

In 1996 I bought a low-milage total loss 1995 Cutlass convertible from an insurance company and rebuilt it. I have rebuilt and restored several vehicles over the years.

The Commodore 64 — The machine that started it all. My Mom bought me this system so I could study at home for as many hours as I wanted — saving me from sneaking into the high school computer lab as a middle-schooler or vying for a seat at the library. While this isn’t my original unit, mine looked exactly like it, except I also had a Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 dot-matrix printer and a Commodore 8010 acoustic coupler modem. Long before it was a Hollywood trope, I was using my modem to explore remote hosts —hacking online a year before WarGames hit the silver screen— not because I was a rebel or causing trouble, but because it was a quest for knowledge in an era with no books or schools to learn from. I needed to know how these things worked inside, and if you wanted to understand the digital frontier back then —I mean the really fun stuff— you had to break the trail yourself. Broken By Midnight Software @ 12:00AM

Super Nerd — In the 80s, Assembly Language (aka Machine Language) was the 'God Mode' of computing. I used it to build custom subroutines to detect carriers while mass-dialing for open hosts. I coded my BBS to instantly distinguish between a human caller and a modem handshake, then pass control to my BASIC code. It was a world of pure optimization — back before computers were fast enough for higher-level languages like C to take over. I didn't just want to use the machine, I wanted to speak its language and understand exactly what was happening under the hood.

I embarked on three diverse journeys simultaneously: Learning the mechanical anatomy of automobiles working in my family's successful wholesale auto parts company, mastering the viewfinder in my photography studies, and diving head-first into the frontier of personal business computers. Whether it was a car, a camera, or a PC, I had to know how it worked.

The "engineer" side of my brain took the lead. I taught BASIC language programming at the local library, studied Assembly Language programming in private classes, and became a Certified Netware Engineer (CNE). I spent the next twenty years helping companies benefit from the PC/Networking revolution, and building Port Perry Online, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to bring dial-up, email and web hosting to my community.

I eventually realized that my best work happened beyond the desk. Trading the secure server room for the open air, I translated two decades of IT discipline into a professional photography career. But I didn't leave the technology behind, I simply found a more creative way to apply it.

Covering a wedding at the amazing Hacienda Sereda in Waterloo, Ontario. Absolutely fantastic event venue for smaller, upper-scale weddings. Image credit: Teresa

Excellence in Event Logistics — High-stakes events require more than just a photographer; they require a system. Teresa manages the logistics and ensures that our timeline remains intact, which is critical when every minute counts. By handling the 'ground game', she frees me to concentrate on the artistry and technical precision of the shoot. This partnership was a cornerstone of my business and is a primary reason we delivered world-class results consistently.

Radiant Sophistication — Inspired by the iconic editorial style of Annie Leibovitz, this portrait at Copper Creek Golf Club was a deliberate departure from traditional wedding documentation. Earlier, while reviewing the raw images from the marathon session of family formal portraits, I realized I was working with an exceptionally photogenic group of women, so I pulled the ladies aside and challenged them to pivot from 'documents' to 'art' and collaborate on a cinematic film study. Their enthusiastic response and willingness to take direction with the poise of professional models allowed us to craft this composition, and considering Leibovitz spends several days planning and executing her spectacular group portraits, I'd say we did quite well with only 1 hour — a testament to what can happen when a photographer’s vision aligns with a client's desire to create something truly special. Of the ~453,000 wedding photos I've shot, this remains my definitive favorite. Thank you, Annie.

The Finer Things — Probably my 2nd-favorite image of all time came from Matt and Lindsey’s wedding reception held at Nestleton Waters Inn: the groomsmen enjoying a quiet moment with fine cigars. While it looks like dusk, we actually used High Speed Sync (HSS) to overpower the daylight and create this moody, cinematic atmosphere. This shot was a true team effort — my partner Teresa was instrumental, perfectly positioning the rear strobe to catch the smoke without shadows and provide that critical separation from the background. We used a remote two-light setup (rear and camera-left) to turn a daytime scene into a high-drama portrait. Teresa’s job was the most important one here. In photography, smoke is almost invisible unless it is backlit. If you look closely you can see her hiding behind the groomsmen in this behind-the-scenes snapshot, taken at almost the same moment by the resort owner standing beside me.

Within two years I built a reputation for meeting the uncompromising standards of Canada’s most discerning families. I spearheaded all marketing and sales operations, consistently securing high-ticket contracts ($3,500 – $17,500) in a market traditionally capped at ~$2,500.

Sadly, the reality of a pro photographer in the digital era wasn't the Ansel Adams darkroom dream — it was hundreds of thousands of digital files and endless days and nights editing alone behind a screen, sitting at a desk. After years of delivering results under grueling deadlines, I hit a turning point. I missed the tactile nature of real-world problem solving and decided to return to my roots where I work with people to fix, build, manage and maintain things.

Looking back, I know I couldn’t have reached that level of success alone. I was lucky to work alongside my talented partner, Teresa, and my dedicated assistants — Sarah, Jaclyn, Christine, Steve, Mike, and Gill. Each of them helped me navigate the 'beautiful chaos' of professional event photography, and I carry forward that same respect for teamwork and ironclad dependability.

Our beautiful Cat 950M loader, which I used to keep our yard clear of snow. My favorite machine.

Splitting the track to replace a final drive sprocket (the round black pointy thing in the middle of the photo) on a Cat 330 Excavator

Can You Fix It? In 2015, my boss challenged me to restore a jackknifed tractor. Relying on the foundational skills I developed in my youth at my father’s auto parts company, I engineered a 'best-of-both' solution, sourcing a salvage cab to provide the needed components to rebuild the original structure. After completing the structural repairs and fabrication, a professional painter ensured a showroom finish. The project was a commercial success, yielding a handsome profit and a very satisfied employer.

After winding down my photography business (which took 3 years because we were booked that far ahead), I moved into the industrial sector, taking ownership of an excavation company’s repair shop and yard. There, I helped manage the maintenance and mechanical health of a heavy-duty fleet of 50+ trucks and equipment, and assisted on job sites occasionally. It was an environment I truly enjoyed, and I would have stayed for the long haul if not for the lack of shop ventilation in winter time.

Going to work each day knowing that several construction crews are relying on your performance in order to do their job efficiently was extremely satisfying. The lead diesel mechanic in our shop was a quadriplegic, so I performed all of the mechanical work under his license, including basic maintenance like this, and large-scale repairs like this and this.

Let's Take It To Market — I engineered the launch visuals for our new proprietary IC board (an elevator emergency light controller), serving as both the principal photographer and lead designer. Leveraging Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop, I created the technical imagery and designed it into a camera-ready sell sheet for our print house, along with a coordinated suite of web graphics for the official online release. In modern graphic design, proper digital color management is crucial, so by bringing my own profiled and color-calibrated equipment from my home office into my employer's workflow —the same specialized gear I used for producing high-end giclée prints in the art world— I established a Tier-1 graphic design and proofing station. Who says you need a massive agency budget for premium results? Everything we release now looks like it was handled by a first-class design house — engineered for excellence, at no cost to the firm.

Maintaining momentum through COVID at the Royal York Hotel — When a scheduled crew was delayed at another site, I leveraged my TSSA EDM license to step in and personally complete the installation of these elevator buttons. In luxury hospitality, 'Out of Service' is not an option for very long — so I did what was necessary to ensure hotel management had their car back in operation without delay.

Logistics — Bob and me preparing to load the truck with high-end elevator finishes for delivery to 44 King Street, Toronto, the historic Bank of Nova Scotia building, now part of Scotia Plaza. I'm probably calculating the best route, since there is usually several stops to make.

The Elevator Shaft - In the 'pit' of the shaft with elevator cars directly above.

I entered the elevator industry behind the wheel of a 5-ton truck, delivering architectural finish fabrications into downtown Toronto, but my trajectory was always upward. Within months, after hearing consistent client praise for professionalism in the field and making sales on the road —even though sales wasn't in my job description— the CEO of this 100-employee firm tapped me to spearhead the company’s marketing efforts.

Tasked with strengthening the company's brand, I spent a year transforming our market presence. I developed the firm’s first formal brand guidelines and served as the Creative Director for our web development partners to ensure a cohesive digital experience. By managing the graphic design for all print and digital media and authoring scripts for our video content, I delivered a synchronized brand identity.

My ability to bridge the gap between technical operations and client relations led to promotion to Sales Representative and Project Coordinator for our firm’s largest-scale clients. While I thrived in the balance of some high-stakes desk work, including countless Zoom and Teams meetings during COVID, and plenty of hands-on job site and production floor time, I eventually chose to pivot. Spending the final chapter of my five-year tenure advocating for our clients, I realized that my professional integrity is my most valuable currency, so transitioned into a more competitive market (look up 'Elevator Cartel'), where I have better control over the quality of deliverables, ensuring that when I make a promise to someone, the craftsmanship backs it up 100%

Today my operations are split between municipal property management and residential home renovations & repairs.

My philosophy is simple: aim to get it right the first time. If the variables shift, ensure it's great the second time. I’ve built a reputation on the belief that there is little room for a third.

Thank you for spending your valuable time visiting my website.
For an interesting 5-minute discussion on leaving social media, click here.
If you have any comments or questions don't hesitate to reach out.